I just returned from a fantastic event at the NYDC where I was fortunate enough to be a part of a panel along with Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic and Nicole Gibbons of So Haute that discussed the benefits of social media for your business and the design world. Beth Greene (Marketing VP for Kravet) gave a very thourough and educational presentation on social media and how facebook, twitter, linked-in and blogging can help build and brand your business. A lot of people are using these tools and they don’t even realize how effective they can be. The take aways from today were as follows:

*If you have a business and you don’t have an account with Facebook, Twitter or Linked-in, sign up today

*Continue to blog, tweet, facebook and share your product and your business as much as possible to strengthen your brand and create buzz that will bring in more business

*Talk to your customers and create a personal relationship so that they feel comfortable with you and not only trust your design concepts but you as a person

*All of these tools are FREE and if they can help market your brand and build your relationships why wouldn’t you use them?

*Your “googlability” will become much stronger if you have an account with all of these platforms and therefore your name (business name) will spread much further, much faster

*Don’t get overwhelmed by social media — it’s a lot easier to tweet and message from your computer or your smart phone than it is to actually meet with hundreds of people in person so think of it as an efficient way to reach tons of people at once!

*You can begin to build stronger PR and marketing strategies using these tools and network with people you may never have connected with otherwise

*Put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to connect, follow, like, comment, inspire, be inspired, chat and update! before you know it, your business will have a brand and you’ll be doing something you’re passionate about

A big thank you to Kravet (Beth Greene, Jennifer Powell) for hosting this event and educating the design world on social media. The more people who are out there, the more we can all connect and network with 😉